A.Word.A.Day Archives
from https://wordsmith.org/awad
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Date: Wed Jul 1 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ramble
X-Bonus: It is almost impossible to carry the torch of truth through a crowd without singeing somebody's beard. -Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, scientist and philosopher (1 Jul 1742-1799)
This week's theme: What's a letter here or there between friends?
ramble (RAM-buhl)
verb intr.: 1. To talk in an aimless manner.
2. To walk in an aimless manner.
noun: A leisurely, sometimes lengthy walk.
[Probably from Middle Dutch rammelen (to wander about in heat, used of
animals). Earliest documented use: 1443.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ramble
"Are you under the impression that I have time to listen to you ramble?"
Rajnar Vajra; The Triple Sun: A Golden Age Tale; Analog Science Fiction
& Fact (New York); Jul/Aug 2014.
"Amateur landlords often ramble up to fix the heating days after a fault
is reported."
Housing the "Rentysomethings"; The Economist (London, UK); Jun 22, 2012.
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Date: Thu Jul 2 00:01:02 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fardel
X-Bonus: Some men look at constitutions with sanctimonious reverence, and deem them like the ark of the covenant, too sacred to be touched. They ascribe to the men of the preceding age a wisdom more than human, and suppose what they did to be beyond amendment. I knew that age well; I belonged to it, and labored with it. It deserved well of its country. It was very like the present, but without the experience of the present; and forty years of experience in government is worth a century of book-reading; and this they would say themselves, were they to rise from the dead. I am certainly not an advocate for frequent and untried changes in laws and constitutions. I think moderate imperfections had better be borne with; because, when once known, we accommodate ourselves to them, and find practical means of correcting their ill effects. But I know also, that laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also, and keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy, as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors. -Thomas Jefferson, 3rd US President (1743-1826)
This week's theme: What's a letter here or there between friends?
fardel (FAHR-dl) noun
1. A bundle.
2. A burden.
[From Old French fardel, diminutive of farde (package, burden), from Arabic
farda (piece, pack). Earliest documented use: 1300.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/fardel
"He could be seen on the first night of every full moon, looking down
with a fardel of twigs strapped with vines to his back."
McDonald Dixon; Saints of Little Paradise; Xlibris; 2012.
"It was selfish of me to link you with so much wretchedness, and join
you with me in bearing the fardel of neverending anxiety and suspense."
Frederick Marryat; The Phantom Ship; E.L. Carey & A. Hart; 1839.
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Date: Fri Jul 3 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--maunder
X-Bonus: A book must be an axe for the frozen sea inside of us. -Franz Kafka, novelist (3 Jul 1883-1924)
This week's theme: What's a letter here or there between friends?
maunder (MON-duhr) verb intr.
1. To talk aimlessly.
2. To walk aimlessly.
[Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1622.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/maunder
"Literary prizes in recent generations seem to go to maundering monuments
to intentional obscurity, such as James Joyce's 'Ulysses' or Lawrence
Durrell's tour de force of labyrinthine inscrutability, the seemingly
endless 'Alexandrine Quartets'."
Thomas P. Lowry; Owen Parry is Master of the Short Story;
The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Virginia); Nov 27, 2004.
"Last year Goran Ivanisevic maundered around the world, winning only 14
matches."
Stephen Bierley; Genial Ivanisevic Takes a Walk on the Wild Side;
The Guardian (London, UK); Jul 9, 2001.
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Date: Mon Jul 6 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--accidence
X-Bonus: In an earlier stage of our development most human groups held to a tribal ethic. Members of the tribe were protected, but people of other tribes could be robbed or killed as one pleased. Gradually the circle of protection expanded, but as recently as 150 years ago we did not include blacks. So African human beings could be captured, shipped to America, and sold. In Australia white settlers regarded Aborigines as a pest and hunted them down, much as kangaroos are hunted down today. Just as we have progressed beyond the blatantly racist ethic of the era of slavery and colonialism, so we must now progress beyond the speciesist ethic of the era of factory farming, of the use of animals as mere research tools, of whaling, seal hunting, kangaroo slaughter, and the destruction of wilderness. We must take the final step in expanding the circle of ethics. -Peter Singer, philosopher and professor of bioethics (b. 6 Jul 1946)
A sword used for beheading is called a heading sword. Sodalite is not
another word for Diet Coke, nor is it a member of a sodality https://wordsmith.org/words/sodality.html --
it's a mineral. Strawberry isn't a berry, but a banana is.
A language never complains however you use it or misuse it. Who said
language was meant to communicate and words were supposed to tell
you what they mean from their spellings?
This week we'll feature words that aren't what they seem to be.
accidence (AK-si-dens) noun
1. The fundamentals of any subject.
2. The branch of grammar dealing with inflections of words.
3. A book of fundamentals of a subject.
[From Latin accidentia (from Latin accidens), from accidere (to happen),
from ad- (toward) + cadere (to fall). Ultimately from the Indo-European
root kad- (to fall), which is also the source of cadence, cascade,
casualty, cadaver, chance, chute, accident, occident, decay,
recidivism https://wordsmith.org/words/recidivism.html ,
perchance https://wordsmith.org/words/perchance.html ,
casuistry https://wordsmith.org/words/casuistry.html .
Earliest documented use: 1434.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/accidence
"He flicked through the accidence, and closed it with a smile of
accomplishment."
Geraldine Brooks; Caleb's Crossing; Viking; 2011.
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Date: Tue Jul 7 00:01:02 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--livelong
X-Bonus: Sin lies only in hurting others unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. -Robert A. Heinlein, science-fiction author (7 Jul 1907-1988)
This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be
livelong (LIV-long) adjective
Whole or entire (referring to time).
[From Old English leof (dear, used as an intensifier) + lang (long).
Ultimately from the Indo-European root leubh- (to love or to care), which
also gave us love, belief, leave (permission), and
lief https://wordsmith.org/words/lief.html .
Earliest documented use: 1450.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/livelong
"Life goes on in their little yellow bubble, where everyone merrily
agrees with each other, all the livelong day."
Emma Cowing; Nicola in a Spin That is Turning Her Head; Daily Mail
(London, UK); May 2, 2015.
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Date: Wed Jul 8 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bespoke
X-Bonus: Should you shield the canyons from the windstorms you would never see the true beauty of their carvings. -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, psychiatrist and author (8 Jul 1926-2004)
This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be
bespoke (bi-SPOHK) adjective
1. Custom-made.
2. Relating to custom-made products.
[Shortening of bespoken, past participle of bespeak (to speak for, to
arrange), from Old English besprecan (to speak about). Earliest documented
use: 1755.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bespoke
"Book in for an eye test, as it's much better for your eyes to get a pair
that are bespoke to your needs, rather than just picking up a pair in
the supermarket."
Keep Eye Health in Your Sights; Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland); Jun 28, 2015.
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Date: Thu Jul 9 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--limpid
X-Bonus: We now know that memories are not fixed or frozen, like Proust's jars of preserves in a larder, but are transformed, disassembled, reassembled, and recategorized with every act of recollection. -Oliver Sacks, neurologist and writer (b. 9 Jul 1933)
This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be
limpid (LIM-pid) adjective
1. Clear; transparent.
2. Easily comprehensible; clear.
3. Calm; serene.
[From Latin limpidus (clear). Earliest documented use: 1609.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/limpid
"Simon Thacker could build sounds into dense textures that were at once
complex and yet limpid."
World Famous Guitarist opens Music in Quiet Places Concert Series;
Stamford Mercury (UK); Jun 17, 2015.
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Date: Fri Jul 10 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tribology
X-Bonus: Wise sayings often fall on barren ground; but a kind word is never thrown away. -Arthur Helps, writer (10 Jul 1813-1875)
This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be
tribology (try-BOL-uh-jee, tri-) noun
The study of interacting surfaces in relative motion and associated
issues, such as friction, lubrication, and wear.
[From Greek tribos (rubbing), from tribein (to rub). Earliest documented use: 1966.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/tribology
NOTES: Usually words are coined on the streets of language, but here is one
instance where a word may be considered to have been synthesized in a lab,
if there could be such a thing as a word lab. In 1965, a group of lubrication
engineers decided they needed a name for what they did and contacted the
editors of the Oxford English Dictionary for help. Out of this came the word
tribology, suggested by one C.G. Hardie of Magdalen College.
So even though it looks like the perfect word for it, tribology is not the
study of tribes. A related term is triboelectricity: electricity generated
by friction.
"As in the later case of the frayed shoelace, what I wanted here was
tribology: detailed knowledge of the interaction between the surfaces
inflicting the wear and the surfaces receiving it."
Nicholson Baker; Mezzanine; Weidenfeld and Nicholson; 1988.
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Date: Mon Jul 13 00:01:02 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--longhair
X-Bonus: If life had a second edition, how I would correct the proofs. -John Clare, poet (13 Jul 1793-1864)
Someone good with gardening is said to have a green thumb. One clumsy
at dancing has two left feet. A person known as a big mouth loves to talk
and can't keep a secret. A nosy person is too curious about others. From
head to toe, our language is full of metaphors related to the body.
This week we'll present five words related to the body parts that are used
to describe people.
longhair (LONG-hair) noun
1. An intellectual.
2. One having a deep interest in the arts, especially in classical music.
3. A male with long hair, especially a hippie.
4. A cat having long hair.
[From Old English lang + haer. Earliest documented use: 1893.]
"With the largest cast in LA Opera history (41 soloists), it delivers pure
kitsch, complete with pratfalls, pie-in-the-face ... It is shamelessly
slapstick, but the diehard longhairs loved it anyway."
Patt Diroll; Party Circuit Heats Up; Pasadena Star-News (California);
Feb 15, 2015.
"Ever wonder what longhairs listen to when they let their hair down? Once
upon a time, when conductors were regarded as remote intellectual titans,
no one would have thought to ask."
Rick Schultz; Roll over, Beethoven; Los Angeles Times (California); Jan 6, 2013.
"Edinburgh's student longhairs had managed to rouse themselves for an
anti-apartheid protest."
Aidan Smith; My Murrayfield of Dreams; Scotland on Sunday (Edinburgh);
Jan 29, 2012.
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Date: Tue Jul 14 00:01:05 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--blackleg
X-Bonus: Literature encourages tolerance -- bigots and fanatics seldom have any use for the arts, because they're so preoccupied with their beliefs and actions that they can't see them also as possibilities. -Northrop Frye, writer and critic (14 Jul 1912-1991)
This week's theme: Words to describe people
blackleg (BLAK-leg) noun
1. One who works while other workers are on strike.
2. A swindler, especially in games such as gambling.
3. One of various diseases of plants or cattle.
[It's unclear how the term came to be employed for a strikebreaker.
Earliest documented use: 1722.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/blackleg
"Derek McGrath never crossed any picket line but he was regarded
as a blackleg nonetheless."
Two Guilty Parties as U-21 Final Row Rages; Irish Examiner
(Cork, Ireland); May 5, 2015.
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Date: Wed Jul 15 00:01:07 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--double-dome
X-Bonus: Choose only one master -- Nature. -Rembrandt, painter and etcher (15 Jul 1606-1669)
This week's theme: Words to describe people
double-dome (DUHB-uhl-dohm) noun
An intellectual.
[From double + dome (slang for head). Earliest documented use: 1938.]
"George has the double-dome's knack for using twice as many words as
necessary to express simple concepts."
Nick Pinkerton; Most Important Election of Their Lifetime; Village Voice
(New York); Oct 15, 2008.
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Date: Thu Jul 16 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--white-livered
X-Bonus: Every student needs someone who says, simply, "You mean something. You count." -Tony Kushner, playwright (b. 16 Jul 1956)
This week's theme: Words to describe people
white-livered (hwyt-LIV-uhrd) adjective
Cowardly.
[From the former belief that a lack of vigor or courage was from a deficiency
of bile which showed in a light-colored liver. Earliest documented use: 1546.
Also known as lily-livered.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/white-livered
"Fillmore jumped on a fence post, straddled a rail, and shouted at the
Confederates, 'Surrender, you white-livered sons of guns!'"
Eric Wittenberg, et al; One Continuous Fight; Savas Beatie; 2008.
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Date: Fri Jul 17 01:13:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dittohead
X-Bonus: Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time rich and cash poor. -Cory Doctorow, author and journalist (b. 17 Jul 1971)
This week's theme: Words to describe people
dittohead (DIT-oh-head) noun
One who mindlessly agrees with an idea or opinion.
[After callers on the talk radio program Rush Limbaugh Show who often
unquestioningly agree with the radio host. The word began as a term to
describe listeners to the show who would agree with the previous caller's
effusive praise of Limbaugh with the word "ditto".
From ditto (same, likewise), from Italian (Tuscan dialect ditto) detto
(said, above-mentioned), from Latin dictus (said), from dicere (to say).
Ultimately from the Indo-European root deik- (to show, to pronounce
solemnly), which also gave us judge, verdict, vendetta, revenge, indicate,
dictate, paradigm, diktat https://wordsmith.org/words/diktat.html ,
fatidic https://wordsmith.org/words/fatidic.html ,
hoosegow https://wordsmith.org/words/hoosegow.html ,
interdict https://wordsmith.org/words/interdict.html ,
retrodiction https://wordsmith.org/words/retrodiction.html .
Earliest documented use: 1989.]
"Wade Lawlor and all his dittoheads are implicating her in the murder
of the colleague she never met."
Breakdown; Kirkus Reviews (New York); Dec 1, 2011.
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Date: Mon Jul 20 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--plutonian
X-Bonus: It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. -Edmund Hillary, mountaineer and explorer (20 Jul 1919-2008)
The New Horizons probe did a flyby of the dwarf planet Pluto last week.
The spacecraft traveled some three billion miles to reach there. That's
enough frequent flier miles for an upgrade to any higher class.
While Pluto has been demoted to a dwarf planet, it lives on in a special
place in many people's hearts. Ask any child (and many adults).
Pluto and its five moons (Hydra, Kerberos, Nix, Styx, and Charon) have been
named after characters in Greco-Roman mythology. These characters have also
become words in the English language. This week we'll feature words related
to them.
plutonian (ploo-TOH-nee-uhn) adjective
1. Relating to the dwarf planet Pluto.
2. Relating to Pluto, the god of the underworld in the Roman mythology.
3. Relating to the underworld.
[Via Latin from Greek Plouton (Pluto, the god of the underworld). Earliest
documented use: 1604.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/plutonian
Pluto and its moons https://wordsmith.org/words/images/plutonian_large.jpg
Image: NASA
Also see: Words that appear to be related to the dwarf planet, but aren't:
plutolatry https://wordsmith.org/words/plutolatry.html
plutocracy https://wordsmith.org/words/plutocracy.html
plutomania https://wordsmith.org/words/plutomania.html
"The turbines are ready to be put in place and a large crew is busy in
the Plutonian regions way down below."
Looking Back on October 4; Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine); Oct 4, 2013.
"'Be that word our sign of parting, bird, or fiend!' I shrieked, upstarting
'Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!'"
Edgar Allan Poe; The Raven; 1845.
"No one wants to hear you reallocating your 401(k) distribution with some
drone on the phone. But if you are switching funds around, go for the
gusto -- plutonian junk bonds!"
Kevin Amorim and Nedra Rhone; Cool 2 Know; Newsday (New York); Sep 20, 2006.
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Date: Tue Jul 21 00:01:02 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hydra
X-Bonus: Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime. Ask the infantry and ask the dead. -Ernest Hemingway, author and journalist, Nobel laureate (21 Jul 1899-1961)
This week's theme: Words related to Pluto and its moons
hydra (HY-druh) noun
A persistent or multifaceted problem that presents a new obstacle when
a part of it is solved.
[After the many-headed monster Hydra in Greek mythology. When its one
head was cut off, it sprouted two more. It was ultimately slain by
Hercules. From Latin Hydra, from Greek Hudra (water snake). Ultimately
from the Indo-European root wed- (water, wet), which also gave us water,
wash, winter, hydrant, redundant, otter, and vodka. Earliest documented
use: 1374.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/hydra
Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra https://wordsmith.org/words/images/hydra_large.jpg
Art: Gustave Moreau
"Roosevelt's ships and men were drowning in the Pacific, fighting a hydra
that formed and reformed in successive island jungles."
Francine Mathews; Too Bad to Die; Riverhead Books; 2015.
"The FSA ceases to exist today. It is a hydra, however. Two will spring up
in its place."
Dominic O'Connell; Perverse Pru Fine Sends FSA Out on Low Note; Sunday Times
(London, UK); Mar 31, 2013.
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Date: Wed Jul 22 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cerberus
X-Bonus: What's done to children, they will do to society. -Karl A. Menninger, psychiatrist (22 Jul 1893-1990)
This week's theme: Words related to Pluto and its moons
Cerberus (SUHR-buhr-uhs) noun
A powerful, hostile guard.
[From Latin, from Greek Kerberos. Earliest documented use: 1386.]
NOTES: Cerberus (also Kerberos) was the three-headed dog that guarded the
entrance to Hades, the infernal region in classical mythology. Ancient
Greeks and Romans used to put a slice of cake in the hands of their dead
to help pacify Cerberus on the way. This custom gave rise to the idiom
"to give a sop to Cerberus" meaning to give a bribe to quiet a troublesome
person.
Cancerbero (from Spanish can: dog) is one of the Spanish terms for a
goalkeeper in f�tbol (football). Kerberos is the name given to an
authentication protocol for computer networks.
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/cerberus
Hercules and Cerberus https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cerberus_large.jpg
Art: Peter Paul Rubens
"Some of the composer's oldest friends grumbled among themselves that
they no longer had direct access to him but were constantly running
up against this young Cerberus, who answered the phone, read all
Stravinsky's letters, and organized his diary."
Stephen Walsh; Stravinsky: The Second Exile; Knopf; 2010.
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Date: Thu Jul 23 00:01:02 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nocturnal
X-Bonus: There are two kinds of truth: the truth that lights the way and the truth that warms the heart. The first of these is science, and the second is art. Neither is independent of the other or more important than the other. Without art, science would be as useless as a pair of high forceps in the hands of a plumber. Without science, art would become a crude mess of folklore and emotional quackery. The truth of art keeps science from becoming inhuman, and the truth of science keeps art from becoming ridiculous. -Raymond Thornton Chandler, writer (23 Jul 1888-1959)
This week's theme: Words related to Pluto and its moons
nocturnal (nok-TUHR-nuhl) adjective
Relating to, happening, or active at night.
[From Latin nocturnalis (of the night), from nox (night). Earliest documented
use: 1485.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/nocturnal
NOTES: Pluto's moon Nix is named after Nyx, the ancient Greek goddess
personifying night. In Roman mythology she's known as Nox. The Latin word
for night, nox, also appears in such words as equinox (equal day and
night) and noctambulation (sleepwalking).
Gray slender loris, a nocturnal animal: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/nocturnal_large.jpg
Photo: Wikimedia
"Getting around London late at night used to be expensive or time-consuming.
Nocturnal groundlings can now get home more cheaply and reliably."
After Dark; The Economist (London, UK); Oct 4, 2014.
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Date: Fri Jul 24 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stygian
X-Bonus: Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace. The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things. -Amelia Earhart, aviator (24 Jul 1897-1937)
This week's theme: Words related to Pluto and its moons
stygian (STIJ-ee-uhn) adjective
1. Dark or gloomy.
2. Hellish.
3. Unbreakable or completely binding (said of an oath).
4. Relating to the river Styx.
[In Greek mythology Styx was a river in the underworld over which souls
of the dead were ferried by Charon https://wordsmith.org/words/charon.html
(after whom Pluto's largest moon is named). Styx was also the river by
which oaths were sworn that even gods were afraid to break. The word is
from Latin Stygius, from Greek Stygios, from Styx (the hateful). Earliest
documented use: 1566.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/stygian
Stygian waters https://wordsmith.org/words/images/stygian_large.jpg
Etching: Gustave Dor� (1832-1883)
"And forget about walking into the stygian darkness of the basement."
Joseph Xavier Martin; Dad's Spooky Stories Brought Chills, Thrills;
Buffalo News (New York); Jul 1, 2015.
"They laboured in Stygian conditions, which would not be tolerated now."
Gay Byrne; Voices from the Old Schoolyard; Sunday Business Post (Cork,
Ireland); Apr 5, 2015.
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Date: Mon Jul 27 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tohubohu
X-Bonus: Euphemism is a euphemism for lying. -Bobbie Gentry, singer and songwriter (b. 27 Jul 1944)
A language revival is rare in history, but if you are determined anything
is possible. The Hebrew language had ceased to be a spoken language and
then revived between the 19th & 20th centuries. Today there are some nine
million speakers of the language. Hebrew is not your typical language. It
has 22 letters, all consonants. No vowels. No capital letters. And it's
written from right to left.
There are many everyday words in the English language that are borrowed
from Hebrew, for example, cider, jubilee, and amen. There are also words
that have come to English from Hebrew with a stopover in Yiddish, for
example, maven https://wordsmith.org/words/maven.html ,
kosher https://wordsmith.org/words/kosher.html , and
schmooze https://wordsmith.org/words/schmooze.html .
Over the last 21 years in A.Word.A.Day, we have featured words borrowed
from Hebrew from time to time, but never a whole week of them. This week
it's all Hebrew.
tohubohu (TOH-hoo-BO-hoo) noun
Chaos; confusion.
[From Hebrew tohu wa-bhohu, from tohu (formlessness) and bhohu (emptiness).
Earliest documented use: 1619.]
"Our problem is tohubohu. Our industry is drowning in it. But
somehow, even with all the confusion and disorder, we manage
to develop systems."
Jerrold Grochow; Take a Little Tohubohu Off the Top; Software
Magazine (Englewood, Colorado); Nov 1995.
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Date: Tue Jul 28 00:01:02 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--behemoth
X-Bonus: I have forced myself to contradict myself in order to avoid conforming to my own taste. -Marcel Duchamp, artist (28 Jul 1887-1968)
This week's theme: Words borrowed from Hebrew
behemoth (bi-HEE-muth, BEE-uh-) noun
1. A huge or monstrous creature.
2. Something large and powerful, as an organization.
[From Hebrew behemoth, plural of behemah (beast). Earliest documented
use: 1382. Behemoth is a huge beast mentioned in the Book of Job 40:15-24.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/behemoth
"The fears were plenty: that customers would end up paying more for declining
service; that the industry behemoth would use its heft to stifle competition."
Emily Steel, et al; Comcast Is Said to Abandon Bid for Major Rival; The New
York Times; Apr 24, 2015.
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Date: Wed Jul 29 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--leviathan
X-Bonus: A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers. -Robert Quillen, journalist and cartoonist (1887-1948)
This week's theme: Words borrowed from Hebrew
leviathan (li-VY-uh-thuhn) noun
Something large and powerful.
[Via Latin from Hebrew liwyathan (whale). Earliest documented use: 1382.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/leviathan
Behemoth and Leviathan https://wordsmith.org/words/images/leviathan_large.jpg
Art: William Blake (1757-1827)
"A merger between the two firms, which both belong to London's Magic
Circle of top five law firms, would have created a legal leviathan
with 950 partners and more than 10,000 staff."
Liz Chong; Partners Quit; The Times (London, UK); Aug 1, 2006.
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Date: Thu Jul 30 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--manna
X-Bonus: A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. -Henry Ford, industrialist (30 Jul 1863-1947)
This week's theme: Words borrowed from Hebrew
manna (MAN-uh) noun
An unexpected help, benefit, or advantage.
[Via Latin and Greek from Hebrew man (manna). In the Bible manna was the
food supplied to the Israelites by the heavens during their wandering in
the desert. Earliest documented use: mid 5th century.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/manna
"The people, also, must accept this new mantra and not expect manna
to fall from the tables of their representatives in the government."
Are Nigerians Ready for the Real 'Change'?; The Sun (Lagos, Nigeria);
Apr 22, 2015.
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Date: Fri Jul 31 00:01:03 EDT 2015
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gehenna
X-Bonus: Trust is the first step to love. -Munshi Premchand, novelist and poet (31 Jul 1880-1936)
This week's theme: Words borrowed from Hebrew
Gehenna (gi-HEN-uh) noun
1. Hell.
2. Any place of extreme torture or suffering.
[From Latin gehenna, from Greek Geenna, from Hebrew ge-hinnom (hell),
literally, the valley of Hinnom, or from ge ben Hinnom (valley of the son
of Hinnom). It's not clear who this Hinnom fellow was. In the Bible, the
valley was known as a place of child sacrifice.
Ultimately, this word is from the same Semitic root that gave Arabic jahannam
(hell) which, in Hindi, became jahannum. Earliest documented use: 1594.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gehenna
"We lived peacefully and happily, but now our house has turned into a
Gehenna."
Isaac Metzker; A Bintel Brief; Doubleday; 1971.
"Just as I was preparing to set the back deck on fire to get some warmth
in the house, all Gehenna broke loose on the news."
Today's Advice; Kennebec Journal (Augusta, Maine); Feb 9, 2013.